Denis Pagan's message to Paul Roos: stay positive

Daniel Cherny

Former North Melbourne and Carlton coach Denis Pagan says that Paul Roos would likely be experiencing a rude awakening early in his tenure at Melbourne.

Pagan, who coached the Kangroos to two premierships late in the 1990s believes that the challenge confronting 2005 premiership coach Roos at the Demons was immense, and a major change from his successful experience at Sydney.

''I think Paul Roos is a wonderful coach but he's taken on a massive job, and I hope for his sake it turns out right but you look at it from afar and you think well Melbourne Football Club seems to be a basket case, and it's going to take several years, a long time to get it rectified,''Pagan said.

''I can remember Allan Jeans when he was alive, he said you haven't coached until you've coached the bottom side.''

Pagan is well-qualified to comment on the matter. At the end of 2002, he left Arden Street where he had made nine finals series in 10 seasons at the helm to take the reigns at lowly Carlton.

Despite a brief upward spike in 2004, Pagan's Blues languished predominantly at the tail-end of the ladder, collecting back-to-back wooden spoons in 2005 and 2006.

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''In AFL football it's not whether you're a good coach or not, there's only one thing that matters, the scoreboard, and coaches who have a good record will get a bit longer.

''The Carlton job was a very difficult assignment,'' he said.

''When I was there in the first six weeks I realised, we lost the draft picks, and I realised very quickly that I was only going to be doing the donkey work for somebody else.''

Pagan, 66 and now working in business with his son Ryan as a real estate agent, suggested Roos' best chance of making inroads at Melbourne was an upbeat approach both behaviour wise and tactically.

''You realise that the group of people you work closely with, you've just got to be positive with them all the time.''

''I would never tell Paul Roos how he should be coaching and what sort of game plan [to have], if you got the best players you can have any game plan, they'll carry it out for you but I think if I was coaching, the players have to enjoy the game otherwise they won't develop and they won't get better.

''Now the best way I think to enjoy the game is to kick goals, if you go for long periods obviously playing a possession game and hanging onto the ball, and you're not scoring, I don't think your players are going to develop as fast.''

Pagan empathised with Roos' lot in losing key forward trio Chris Dawes, Jesse Hogan and Mitch Clark prior to the season, having himself had to rapidly change plans in attack when Wayne Carey left the Kangaroos in acrimonious circumstances on the eve of the 2002 season.

''All I know and it's very hard when you've got injuries to Dawes, to Hogan, Clark.

''Whether Fitzy (Jack Fitzpatrick) plays forward, or Jeremy Howe, I'd still have more fast plays, I'd still get a lot more deeper entries, I'd certainly take the game on,'' he said.

''Paul's philosophy has been one about defence, and he's won a premiership doing that, it's a debate for the ages.''